Device for illuminating rooms opening on light-wells.



No. 729,660. PATENTED JUNE 2,1903

N. POULSON.

DEVICE FOR ILLUMINATING ROOMS OPENING ON LIGHT WELLS. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 26, 1897.

N0 MODEL.

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UNITED STATES- Patented June 2, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

NIELS POULSON, on BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N6.- 729,e6o,- aaaarune 2, 1903. I Application filed November 26, 1897f erial No. 659,759. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, NIELS POULSON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Device for Illuminating Rooms Open: ing on Lightells, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to a means whereby the interior of rooms remote from the outside or street side of a building may be effectively illuminated by daylight; and it consists, es sentially, of the following devices arranged and combined as hereinafter described and shown-to wit, a vertical light-shaft of suitable dimensions extending downward from the roof of the building to the desired depth and having openings into the rooms to be illuminated, a reflecting or refracting screen sup ported on a suitable frame above'said lightshaft and extending laterally beyond". the edges thereof, so as to gather the light of a superficial area extending beyond the crosssectional area of the light-shaft andadapted to direct said rays downward into the shaft, and retracting or reflecting screens opposite said openings and adapted to receive and difoot said rays inwardly into the rooms, said latter screens being preferably adjustable, as hereinafter described, to vary the degreeof illumination.

The invention further consists in the construction and arrangement hereinafter fully described, and set forth-in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure l repre-- sents in sectional elevation the application of my invention, while Fig. 2 represents in plan one-half of the canopy shown in Fig. 1; and

port for this rack may be made in any suit able form, here shown as consisting of posts and braces D.

The canopy is here shown as consisting of a framework'jdivided into panels, in each of which is located the reflecting or refracting prisms E, so shaped and located as to'direct the rays of light into the shaft substantially as indicated by the fine lines-F. This canopy may, as indicated, be formed in the shape of a cross, the angles between the arms of which are filled by the'small racks G. Within the openings B or near the upper ends of the same are mounted racksof prisms H. These racks are p'referablyhinged at their upper edges and provided with adjusting-braces, suchas indicated at I, whereby they may be placed at 'a greater or less angle to the opening B and by their adjustability regulate the direction and amount of light to be thrown from the shaft into the rooms on the different floors of the building.

At the bottom of the air-shaft is the usual glazed roof J, by which the room K is covered. A ceiling to this'room may be formed by means of a rack of prisms L, which shall direct the rays of light to the vertical racks B, which, like the racks B, may be adjustable in their respective openings or'not, as desired.

Bythe use of the canopy G G a beam of light many times the cross-section of the airshaft may be directed into said shaft, and by the particular arrangement of the prisms in the respective panels of said canopy the rays of said beam maybe directed to particular floors'in the building,'and in this manner the lower floors be made to receive a far greater amount of light than would be available without the extended canopy. I

WVhile the drawings indicate the use of bar prisms in the panels E of the canopy, it is not. intended to limit the invention to the use of bar-prisms, since reflectors orprismatic plates of various forms may be substituted therefor, an illustration of which, in transverse section, is seen in Fig. 3. As will be readily seen from this figure, the obliquity of the reflectors determines the direction of the reflected rays. Therefore by setting the reflectors in the canopy at the proper angles the rays of light striking the different reinto the shaft.

flectors may be thrown to different depths The correct position of each reflector or set off reflectors may be readily ascertained by knowing the location of the spot in the shaft to which the light from that reflector or set of reflectors is to be directed, since, knowing that, the angle of reflection can be readily ascertained and the reflector then set to make the angle of incidence equal to the angle of reflection. As daylight is diffused in all directions, the beam of incident rays may be taken from any direction. Therefore the reflectors may be set at any angle which is found necessary to throw the light to the desired spot.

By using prismatic plates in the canopy it may be made to serve as a roof for the airshaft, its extension beyond the same being sufficient to prevent rain from driving into the shaft. As a precaution against the rain beating in under the canopy the exterior of the framework supporting the same may be glazed, if desired."

Other changes and modifications besides those above suggested may be made without departing from the spirit of this invention.

While I show reflecting or refracting screens and of greater area than the opening therein 7 and having said prisms set in a manner to collect and direct the light downwardly into the shaft and to the several openings communicating therewith, and prisms located at said openings for projecting the downwardlydirected light-rays laterally into the rooms of '7 the building, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 24th day of November, A. D. 1807.

NIELS POULSON. lVitnesses:

7M. H. GAPEL, DE'LBERT H. DECKER. 

